A Mitsubishi i-MiEV garbage truck

I’m sure all of us here have seen a garbage collector truck going about doing it stuff around our neighbourhoods before. Once in a while they would stop and the engine would begin revving high while stationary. The engine is actually powering the garbage compactor. This of course causes both environmental and noise pollution.
Kyokuto Kaihatsu Kogyo Co., Ltd. has worked with Mitsubishi to install the i-MiEV’s electric drive into the garbage truck. Of course, the tiny system designed for a compact car isn’t powerful enough to move the whole truck on electric power. Instead, only the garbage compactor runs on the i-MiEV system.
According to them, the results are decent. They managed a 75% cut in truck CO2 emissions during use by utilizing battery power for the trash compactor instead of the engine. And of course if you just shut off the engine while you’re compacting the trash this can be reduced to zero in terms of both noise and CO2 emissions. There is even a benefit cost-wise as the electricity cost to run the trash compactor is significantly less than diesel fuel usually used in normal trash compactors.
With almost no noise and no gas emissions during compactor use, the new truck is optimal for trash collection from within buildings, during early morning or late at night. Of course here in Malaysia there is no such consideration for noise pollution – everyone just does whatever they want without thought for others.

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Mitsubishi Unveils Production Version of i-MiEV All-Electric RWD Minicar, Priced from $47k

The much anticipated production version of Mitsubishi's pure-electric i-MiEV minicar was unveiled today in Japan. Mitsubishi will begin leasing the minuscule EV principally to corporations and to local authorities in Japan in July. Individual sales are due to start in the Land of the Rising Sun in April 2010, followed shortly after by Europe and later on, the United States. In Japan, prices for the i-MiEV have been set at a hefty 4,599,000 Yen which is about $47,500 US or €33,700 at today's rates. That's more than double the price of a Toyota Prius that costs 2,050,000 Yen or $21,200 in Japan.

The production model of the four-seater EV which is based on Mitsubishi's 'i' minicar does not differ significantly from the concept version which was last previewed at the New York Auto Show this past April. Measuring in at 3.395mm or 133.6-in. in length, the i-MiEV is roughly the same size as the Fiat 500.

While retaining the i's rear mid-ship architecture, the i-MiEV replaces the conventional gasoline engine, transmission and fuel tank with a 330-volt lithium-ion battery system located under the floor deck, electric motor and onboard charging system. The electric motor that drives the rear wheels develops an output of 47kW or 64HP and 180Nm or 132.8-lbs/ft of maximum torque.

According to Mitsubishi, charge times to replenish the lithium-ion battery pack will be 7-14 hours, although the automaker said that it is developing fast charging stations throughout Japan that will take just half an hour. A full charge delivers up to 100 miles or 160 km of pure electric driving.

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